Published in the October 26 – November 8, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Mark Fenichel
Mark Fenichel
Mark Fenichel and John Garcia
I must admit that I have been very lucky to play with some of the finest musicians throughout the Bay Area and living in South County has opened the door for opportunities to perform frequently with my dear friend the late master guitarist/vocalist John Garcia. It’s hard to believe John is no longer with us as he was such a staple of the local music scene.
John was born and raised in Gilroy where he lived most of his life. He was a performing musician going all the way back to his early teens. The list of those he played with nationally include B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Paul Simon and Bonnie Raitt and most notably John Lee Hooker in the ’70s and early ’80s and his daughter Zakiya Hooker and son John Lee Hooker Jr. John received a Grammy nomination for his work on John Lee Hooker Jr’s CDs “Blues With A Vengeance” (2004) and “All Odds Against Me” (2008). He was always a very hard working local musician and had regular at Biscuits & Blues in San Francisco and you could find him performing often in Gilroy at The Milias, and in Morgan Hill at 88 Keys, Mama Mia’s patio and GVA Cafe. He regularly would appear at places like the Poor House Bistro, Little Lou’s BBQ, JJ’s Blues Cafe (when it was the centerpiece for the South Bay blues scene) and just about everywhere there was live music. In fact, I don’t think there was a music venue around that he didn’t play at including a long-standing annual performance at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
He is considered to be a local icon and one of Gilroy’s most famous musical standouts. A teacher to so many over the years, a band leader, and someone who helped many budding musicians gain the confidence to go out and perform. He taught music for well more than three decades and he made his living both teaching and performing. In addition to private lessons, he taught at Gavilan College, South Valley Music Conservatory, the Morgan Hill Adult Community School, Gilroy Music Academy and was a founding guitar instructor at Dave Barrett’s School of the Blues in South San Jose. He also played guitar at Dave’s Harmonica Masterclass sessions and backed many of the famous harmonica players such as Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold and others. Every time John would perform whether it was for a large or small crowd he always treated it like it was his biggest most important show ever! He played with a fiery passion and was extremely passionate about music.
I have known him for more than 30 years. In the past four years we became very close musically. He was such a gracious person and on stage always treated everyone equally regardless of their skill level. I loved to show up at his solo gigs because no matter what time I would arrive, he would invite me to sit in with him on harmonica. We did many performances together as a duo and in the full band mode. We shared the stage for a variety of notable shows including duos at the San Benito County Fair, St. Catherine’s Fall Festival, BBQ 152 and the Trail Dust.
We shared the stage last year at Gavilan College’s Bach to Blues along with Nate Pruitt and Gavilan music teacher Albert Marquez. We played together at a private party on New Year’s Eve this past year and a few times with the Fountain Blues Allstars led by JC Smith with shows at the Metro Fountain Blues Festival and on the blues stage at the San Jose Jazz Festival’s Summerfest. At that show, John was tearing it up on a burning guitar solo when his wedding ring went flying off his finger and was never found.
Whenever we were together, he constantly had interesting stories about touring and performing. He would tell a story with such detail and always as passionately as his music playing. He was one of those guys that could be funny and serious at the same time, and sometimes you never knew if he was kidding or serious. One thing that stood above all was his phrasing and lyrical solos. The way he would mix his voice with his guitar playing and how he could take the blues and turn it into jazz and then back to blues again. I am sorry I never took an actual guitar lesson from him but every time we played together, it was a lesson. Prior to his passing John had requested no service be held, however, there will be a public celebration of his life with his band mates Walley Schnalle and Steve Smith along with many others from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday Oct. 30 at the Poor House Bistro, 91 S. Autumn Drive in San Jose.
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On another note, San Jose Jazz (SJZ) presents its “Fall Concert Series” including New York’s premier guitarist Rez Abbai & Junction at Cafe Pink House Oct. 28, and Latin Grammy Award-nominated Mariachi Flor de Toloache performing a free concert on the SJZ Boom Box stage at the Dia De Los Muertos celebration at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Oct. 30. For more details go to www.sanjosejazz.org.
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